❤ ❤ ❤ Nonny-Mouse.
“My purpose is done.” Furuta walks away.
“Wait!” Ui chases after him, Hirako and Yusa on his heels. “You can’t just – you can’t walk away!”
“Aren’t I?” Furuta takes another step back.
Ui’s surprised at the deadness in Furuta’s eyes. “Why? I just…I want to know why.”
Furuta laughs harshly. “I can’t.”
“You can and you must.” Ui pales. “Why did you entrust me with your plan?”
“Because I knew you wouldn’t break.”
“I’m breaking now.”
“We’re all broken. Look around you.” Furuta shrugs.
Ui stomps his foot. “Why don’t you care about anything or anyone?!”
Furuta swallows. “Caring is a pain in the ass.”
Ui glowers at him.
“If you want to kill me, you can. I really don’t care.” Furuta holds out his hands. “Do your worst.”
“Ui,” Hirako warns.
Ui knows Furuta’s just tempting him further. That’s all he’s ever been to Furuta, isn’t it? Just someone to stumble.
He steps closer, shooting Hirako a knowing look. Hirako, with a satisfied nod, lets Ui approach Furuta.
“I should want to. Kill you, that is.” Ui pauses. “I really don’t, though.”
“Then you’re a fool.” Furuta closes his eyes. End it.
“Maybe you’re the fool for thinking you should die.”
There’s silence, and when Furuta opens his eyes, he sees Ui holding out his hand to Furuta. “Come on. We can still make this right.”
“Nothing’s right.” Furuta goggles at Ui.
“No, but we can clean up what little we can,” says Hirako.
“You know,” says Yusa through tears, “if you had just asked the One-Eyed King about the world he wanted, everything could have been different.”
“Kaneki was easy to figure out.”
“Not Kaneki. Arima,” said Hirako.
Ui’s mouth drops in synchrony with Furuta’s.
He grabs Furuta’s hand. “I’m taking you with us. I won’t let you self-destruct any more. I won’t do to you what you did to me. And I can’t forgive you, but I can’t let you die, you know?”
“I really don’t.” Furuta trembles.
“You’re one of the Garden kids too.” Hirako sighs. “Arima would have wanted you protected, too.”
“I have no idea what he’s talking about,” Ui says icily. “But come with us, and you all can explain to me. Because if Arima would have wanted you alive, I do, too.” He lowers his voice. “And even if he didn’t, I still would.”
Furuta is terrified of the compassion in Ui’s voice. But he allows Ui and Hirako to lead him forward. And his grip tightens on Ui’s.
Mercy and Magic 